Which sentence uses correct order of coordinate adjectives?

Which sentence uses correct order of coordinate adjectives?

• A. A big red ball.
• B. A red big ball.
• C. A ball big red.
• D. A red ball big.

Answer: (A)

Describing a noun with multiple adjectives follows a natural order. When two adjectives both describe the noun, size typically comes before color. So referring to something as a big red ball is the smooth, conventional way to put it, because the size descriptor precedes the color descriptor. Putting the color before the size would sound off in standard English, and rearranging to phrases like “a ball big red” is not grammatical. If you wanted to show that both adjectives are equally descriptive and give a little emphasis, you could write “a big, red ball,” but the established order places size before color, which is why the sentence with big red fits best.